Mail-bag exchange



C. F. SMITH.

MAIL BAG EXCHANGE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1918. RENEWED MAR. 12,1921.

1,393,980. Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I I W ATTORNEY C..F. SMITH.

MAIL BAG EXCHANGE. 7 APPLICATION FILED SEPT'.12, I918- RENEWED MAR. 12,1921.

1,393,980. Patented Oct 18, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 ATTORNEY WITNESSES v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MAIL-BAG EXCHANGE.

-Application filed sentember m, 1918, Serial No. 253,765.

' Exchanges, of which the following is a holes '8. The post with ayoke as-se'en' at 9.

times the handle isswung around toa tionparallel with the rails 12 and theparts being 5 specification.

This invention relates to railway mail delivery,=and-moreespecially to a combined receiver and support; and=the objectiof the same is to produce animprove'ddevlce for delivering a bag from a car to a station and :atthesamettimepicking up a bag at the station by a receiver-on the car'thus effecting an exchange otmail bags without interrupting the progress of" the train.

' Another object of the-invention is to produce asupport at the station which may be turned aside-out ofthe way and asupporton the car which may belturned on its pivot-sso thatthedoor can be shut.

Other objects will appear in the following specification of details, reference being had to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is-a side elevation of the post alongside the t'rackat the stationand a section through the mail car,

Fig.2 is a plan view, 'being-a horizontal section'through the doorway of the mail car Fig. 3 is an enlargeddetail in:sidexelevation of one of the snap'rin-gs,

Fig. 4' is a-detail 'of the-tongue on'thc fin er for holdingsaid rings.

Kt ornear each stationthere'iserected a base l'having in itsupper' enda socket 2 in which is; stepped ior'rotation apin 3' at the lower end of an upright post dyand fast on said post'just above'thetop ofthe base is a ring from which projects a handle 6 'movable in. a horizontal plane -'over a plate 7 fastened'on the'top'of the postand having may also be provided Through the handle and possibly false f'thro ugh theyoke is dropped-apin 10' ada'pted' 'to engage one of 'the' holes 8, J and the pin is held against loss'by'means of a small chainull'. When this pin engages what might be called the rear hole'i'n the=topplate 7, the parts stand in active position as seen in Fig.2. At' other posiare in inactive position the pin Specification of Letters Ifatent.

side. flattened a littl'e as at 25 and accidentallydislodged. Thering is split'or hook and erly spaced to engage the The bag post 4 and'isitobemalren'by-the catcher on the passin car.

.each notch isof Patented-Oct. 18, 1921.

Renewed March 12, 1921. Serial No.- 451,843.

dropped into one ofthe'other holes 8 which are exposed in Fig.2.

Securedto the, post 'tin any suitable way, as bycollars l5 and set screwslfi, are the inner ends of arms 17 and 18 which constitute one pair havingtat their outer' iends ngers proje'ctingaway from'the'reader in Fig. l and therefore not shown. Alsoiin the same manner thereare mounted onthe post two other arms 19 and QO'cOnstituting another pair standing respectively:above-the first-named arms and having at their outer ends fingers/21 and 22ipmjecting1toward the reader in Fig. 1. The fingers of what might be called the lower pair of arms-in'Figl are therein shown as supporting rings 23 =and24 which are respectively and removablyconnected with opposite-ends of a mailibag l'ettered A standing upright betweenfand supported by: arms; The ring is shown at124 in Fig. 3. 1 as considerably enlarged, its upper V overlying the finger 26; being heldthereon by: means of a spring tongue 27:50 that: it maynot become :cut away at'one side and the opening thus produced is closed by a spring tongue 28 so :that the entire device becomes what might be called a snap firing, much likea "snap zserving 'zsubstaiitially the same The two rings 231*and24fare proplingers of any pair of arms and they might' be 'slippedonto function. I

or slippedoffof the same and underthe reand-with ease;

the mail bags, the'tongues 27 must besprung topermit'it. A shown-"in Fig. 1' is carried by the Thebag Bin the same view is'carriedby the' car-and is to be left "on tliefin'gers of the other pair of arms 19 and .brokenaway'for' greater clearness but it is' provided with a-pai-r ofrings like that num- 20. The upper end ofthe bag B is bered-24 as bestseen in Fig. 3.

In the side barsof the door opening'il of the car 31 are mounted uprightkeepers 32 havingnotches 33 closed at their lower ends'and openedat their upper ends'as best seen in Fig. 1, and removably fitting in a square head 34; atone end a cross bar35 which extends across the door openingand is 'provided at its center with an offset or crank 36 projecting beyond the side wall of the car and affording a bearin for the element yet to be described. ldotatably mounted on the uppermost crank is an eye 37 formed at the juncture between a lever 38 and a pair of fork arms 39 and 10,. the uppermost arm 39 having a finger e1 projecting toward the reader above the finger 21 as seen in Fig.1, and the lowermost fork arm 40 having a finger projecting from the reader in the same view and therefore not visible. duplicate of this structure is mounted on the lowermost crank, and its details need not be recited. On the intermediate crank 416-is mounted an eye 47 at the outer end of a hand lever 48 which projects into the car. A link pivotally connects the two levers 38 and the hand lever 48, and a pin l'is provided for engaging holes 43 in the hand lever and link when they register. I'may here say that when the parts stand in the position shown in this view, the outer ends of the upper fork arms 39 and their fingers 41 travel just above the outer ends of the upper arms 19 and 20 and their fingers '21 and 22; whereas the outer ends of the other fork arms 40 and their fingers travel just beneath the outer ends and fingers of the other pair of fork arms 17 and 18 on the post. It is the fingers of the last-named arms which will pass through the rings 23 and 24 and pick up the bag A asthe car passes the station whereas the fingers 41 on what might be called the upper pair of fork arms support the bag B which has been hung outside the car door and this bag is delivered onto the fingers 21 and 22 of the upper pair of arms on the post and left at the station. Therefore the exchange of bags is entirely automatic and needsno attention on the part of operators eitherat the station or in the car.

When the device at the station is not in use, the pin 10 is lifted and the entire struc- V ture' turnedaside because the pin 3 at the lower end of the post rotates within the socket 2 in the base 1; and now the trains may pass to and fro and all parts of the station structure are out of the way. When the structure on the car is not to be used, the hand lever 48 is borne downward and the link 45 causes the other two levers 38 to swing downward simultaneously. This throwsrthe fork arms upwardso thatthe arms numbered 39 come into the dooropen- .ing 30 and the arms numbered 10 and their fin ers rise to a position above the cranks 36 inthe bars 35. The hand-hold on the hand lever 418 now passes into the door way 30, and a sliding door (see fragmentary section marked D in Fig. 1) may be moved side the door. When the structure is not desired at all for use during a trip, the

heads 32 and the cross bars 35 may be lifted i out of the notches 33 and the whole device carried into the car; but whether its fork. arms are swung upward or it is bodily moved, no part of this structure projects any great distance beyond the outside of the car to strike anything alongside the track. When the car structure is brought prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims. V 7

Having thus fully described my 1nvent1on,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is': a 1. Ina mail bag handling device, the combination with kee'pers adapted tobe attached to'the sides of the door opening in 'a mail car, three cross bars, and adjustable connections between their extremities V and the receptive pairs of keepers, the midlengths of said cross bars being offset; of

mail car and having a notch open at its upper end; of a bar having at one extremity a square head removably insertible in said notch,the bar having its body ofiset out'of linewith the car wall, a mail bag support having an eye mounted on said offset portion, and means for manually adjusting its Position thereon.

3. In a mall bag handling devioa the commail bag supports rotatably mounted on the w bination with keepers adapted to be attached to the sides of. the door opening in a mail car and having notches open at their upper ends; of a cross bar within the door opening having square heads at its ends for engagement with said'notches and anoffset .crankat its center standing outside the line of the car wall, a mail bag support having an eye rotatably mounted on said crank and a lever standing within the door opening, and means for manually adjusting the position of said lever. j across the door openmg to close the same, leaving all parts of the car structure out- 4;. ln a mail bag handling device, the comblnation w1th keepers adapted to be mounted in the sides of a car door opening, and a V plurality of cross bars having headed extremities remo-vably engaging said keepers; of swinging mail bag supports mounted on the upper and lower bars, a hand lever mounted on the intermediate bar, and a link pivotally connecting said supports and hand lever, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a mail bag handling device, the combination with keepers adapted to be mounted in the sides of a car door opening, and a plurality of cross bars removably engaging said keepers and offset between their ends into cranks standing outside the line of the car wall; of mail bag supports mounted on the uppermost and lowermost cranks and each comprising a forked outer end and a lever at its inner end, a hand lever having an eye mounted on the crank of the intermediate cross bar and adapted to project into the car when said forks project outside of the car, and a link connecting the three levers whereby said hand lever may be moved to throw the forks out of active position.

' In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CHARLES F. SMITH. 

